Pages

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Savory Cinnamon Pulled Pork Cinnamon Roll - Fair Foodalicious!

Pulled Pork Cinnamon Roll

Just yesterday, these savory cinnamon rolls won first place in the Non-Traditional Cinnamon Roll in the Tone's Cinnamon Roll Competition at the Iowa State Fair. This is the fourth time I've entered the Tone's Cinnamon Roll Competition, and the second time I've taken first in this class, since they first introduced it two years ago. The inspiration for this recipe came from my knowledge of the average Iowan's love for all things pork. Fortunately, the stars aligned as I executed my crazy idea, and the judges loved it--not enough to win me the $3000 first place OVERALL award, but I'll take what I can get. This cinnamon roll is a meal like no other, and if I had any kind of business sense, I would hold this recipe close to my heart and put together a booth at next year's State Fair where I would sell these meaty rolls. But, alas, I have no business sense, and I'm posting this recipe for free for the world to enjoy.

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Start with roasting the pork. Mix the brown sugar, 1 T ground cinnamon, kosher salt, and black pepper. Coat the outside of the pork roast with this mixture. Place roast in a large roasting pan and roast uncovered at 300°F for 6-8 hours, or until the meat is tender and pulls off easily. When done, let roast rest until it cools off a little. Then shred with two forks, discarding fat and gristle. Set pulled pork aside.

2. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave until butter melts. Remove pan from heat and set aside until the mixture is lukewarm (about 100 degrees).

3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, mix together the warm water, yeast, sugar, egg, and yolks at low speed until well mixed. Add the salt, warm milk mixture, and 2 cups of the flour, and mix at medium speed until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook, add another 2 cups of the flour, and knead at medium speed (adding ¼ cup more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if necessary) until the dough is smooth, about 10 minutes. Scrape the dough into a large lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover bowl with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk (1 ½ to 2 hours.)

4. After the dough has doubled, press it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, shape the dough into a 16 by 12 inch rectangle, with a short side facing you. Mix the ¼ cup softened butter with the ½ teaspoon cinnamon and spread over the surface of the dough. Squeeze about 1/4 cup bbq sauce all over butter. Spread a healthy layer of pulled pork over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch open strip on one of the short sides. Roll the dough and when you get to the end, pinch it to seal.

5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a metal 9 x 13-inch cake pan. With a sharp serrated knife, evenly cut roll into six equal slices and evenly place them swirl side up in the pan (2 rolls x 3 rolls). Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until puffy and almost doubled (about 1 hour). Gently brush with egg wash before placing in oven.

6. Bake rolls at 350°F for 40-50 minutes, or until the dough reaches 185°F-190°F on an instant read thermometer. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan 10-15 minutes. Drizzle with your favorite barbecue sauce and serve.

Thanks, MaryJane! I should really thank King Arthur Flour for my wins too. I wasn't even a contender in the cinnamon roll competition until I discovered King Arthur Flour through the competitions they sponsor at the IA State Fair! I LOVE King Arthur! But I suppose you could tell that by the fact that I name that flour in all the recipes on my blog here. :)

Ha! That's funny. :) If you're not afraid to make a yeast roll, and you're used to roasting meat, these rolls are worth a try. They're not sweet at all, really. It's just like eating a sandwich. Let me know if you try it and what Austrians think...

Hi! I am very intrigued by these and must try them! However, I was wondering if I could do a short cut (since I have a two year old and am often short on time...and patience) and use store bought cinnamon rolls and just unroll them and then roll the pork up. Thoughts? Thanks :)

These rolls really aren't sweet at all, aside from the sugar in the bbq sauce, so if you want to do a shortcut, I would use the Pillsbury French Bread in a tube and roll that into a flat rectangle and put the butter, cinnamon, and pork on it from there. Does that make sense? They also have frozen yeast bread dough you can buy, but that would involve thawing it and letting it rise. Oh, Pillsbury also makes a pizza dough, that I think you release from the tube and unroll into a rectangle. I think that would be the way to go. Please let me know if you try any of these ideas, but I would avoid the sugary store-bought cinnamon rolls.

I made these tonight using Pillsbury pizza dough from a tube, and they were okay. The flavor was wonderful but the bread was just too hard. I think next time I will take the extra time to make your dough recipe. I also made your twice baked potatoes in a dish and my on criticism is that I didn't make enough. Those were amazing! Thanks for dinner tonight :)

I made these using Pillsbury pizza dough and they were ok. The flavor was so yummy, but the bread was just too hard. I think I'm going to take the extra time to make your dough next time! I made your twice baked potatoes in a dish with the rolls and those were to die for. My only criticism is that I didn't make enough :) Thanks for dinner tonight!

I made these rolls tonight and they got the thumbs up from me and my roommate! It was a little scary when I took the meat out of the oven 8 hours later and it looked VERY burnt. The inside meat was still good, but I feel like that was not how it was supposed to work. Do you have any advice on this? I feel like the pork did not get any of the brown sugar or cinnamon flavors while cooking because it stayed on the outside and became almost like jerky.

Hmmm... Sounds like maybe your oven runs a little hot or the piece of meat might have been smaller than my usual. If you try it again, you can try either reducing the heat and time OR cover the meat with foil for part (like half to 3/4) of the roasting time. Or, you can also try putting the rub on the meat 8-24 hours before you roast it and let the rub soak in in the fridge for a while. Those are my only ideas. :/

Thanks! This sounded so weird to me at first but then I thought about it and realized it would work. Glad I bit the bullet to give it a try! I had some leftover BBQ pulled pork and this was a great way to dress up leftovers. You also opened up my mind to a world of savory cinnamon roll possibilities!

any thoughts on how to make these smaller? I was thinking of maybe cutting the dough in half, and just rolling them smaller? Also, are these served warm or room temperature? I want to make to bring to a party,so I am thinking of making them but not added the sauce until I reheat them briefing and then put the sauce on?

I've actually made these smaller for my co-workers to try out, and they turn out fine. Just be sure not to skimp on the meat. People have eaten these at room temperature as well as warm. I prefer them warm. Good call on adding the sauce right before serving. I think that they'll turn out great. If you think of it, let me know how it goes. :)

I want to make these for an April Fools birthday party tomorrow (celebrating a week late!) but will be pressed on time...I want to make them ahead. Do you have any thoughts as to whether it would be better to make the dough and roll them up, ready to bake on a sheet pan then put them in the fridge and bake the next day...or to bake them, cool them, and heat them up tomorrow? Thank you so much for this amazing looking recipe!

Hello! If your comment is more of a question about something you are cooking RIGHT NOW, please email me the question in addition to posting it here. I check my email more frequently than I check my blog comments. :)mckellysu@gmail.com